Goldcord Asylum

by Jude Starling

Preston, 1866: Time is running out for Goldcord Asylum. Once a progressive establishment dedicated to curing the mental problems of the inmates, now the asylum is under increasing pressure to treat and release patients whether they are ready or not. Professional pride, personal ideals, financial pressures and dark secrets compete to determine whether Goldcord will survive.

In the midst of this maelstrom of conflicting interests, Ivy Squire is committed. A strange young woman, so self-destructive that she must be kept in isolation, Ivy begins to reveal her story to new nurse Tilly Swann. But can Tilly find the key to Ivy’s madness before she is dragged into danger by Superintendent Enoch Gale’s increasing recklessness?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mental Health, Mystery, Psychology, Historical, Victorian, Fiction

486 pages, Paperback

First published June 20, 2013

About the author

Jude Starling is an author, editor, proofreader, Victoriana enthusiast and tattoo collector from North West England. Her head is almost always stuck in a book for one reason or another, whether she’s writing her own, editing someone else’s, researching her next story or just reading for the sheer joy of it, but when she looks up from the page she can be found on Twitter @JudeStarling and Goodreads.

Reviews

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an engrossing and disturbing account of a woman who ends up in a mental asylum in the 19th century. The woman, Ivy Squire, is put in the asylum by her husband who Ivy was forced to marry by her parents. Ivy suffers from Asperger's Syndrome which was an undiagnosed condition in the 19th century. She merely seemed a little odd because she avoided eye contact, wanted to learn geology (which was considered solely a man's pursuit), avoided perfumes, and other traits considered to be unfeminine. The focus of the book is on Ivy who tells her history to a young nurse, Tilly, but the novel also details the conditions of mental health at the time and the gross misconceptions especially of female patients. For example, women were diagnosed with mental conditions based on such things such as "excessive reading, studies not suited to the female sex, a fancy to forego marriage and children in favor of pursuing work." The novel really fleshes out the characters including Ivy and her family, Tilly, Dr. Ambrose (a young doctor newly appointed to Goldcord), and Enoch Gale, the hospital administer who is a syphilitic using all the wrong methods on his patients. Overall, a high recommendation for this although I thought parts of Ivy's narrative could have come from a romance novel. The author, who has Asperger's, also includes some bonus material at the end about Asperger's, Victorian era asylums and mental patients, and some trivia related to the story. This add-on material is a great way to enhance the novel.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in northwest England in the year 1866, this heartbreaking novel is of a woman put into a mental institution by her husband- a husband she never wanted. Ivy Squire, nee Greenlake (having to change her name was an irritation to her) was married by her parents to Benjamin Squire as a social and economic move; Squire’s mother, who made the match, only wanted someone decorative and fertile. Ivy was not consulted at all- not at all unusual for that time. Ivy, an avid reader and devoted to her invalid sister, had no interest in leaving home. But her odd ways had always been an embarrassment to her mother, and this marriage offer was a good arrangement in her eyes.

Sadly, her odd ways make her less than satisfactory to her new spouse and mother-in-law, and Ivy is revolted by her husband and his demands. When she finds secret ways to maintain some autonomy, her happiness proves short lived.

Ivy’s odd ways are simply Asperger’s syndrome, unheard of in the Victorian age. In our day, people with Asperger’s are just beginning to be accepted as normal (whatever that is); imagine how much worse it would have been back then, when every inconvenient female was considered to have a mental illness, as was every one who did not adhere closely to the prevailing way of life.

Problems at the institute make Ivy’s – and the other patient’s- situation worse. Enoch Gale, founder of Goldcord and Medical Superintendent, has secrets that would ruin him were they known. To add to Gale’s problems, the Commission in Lunacy, which oversees mental hospitals, is starting to frown on the fact that very few patients are released as cured. Dr. Ballard, new to Goldcord, and the new nurse, Tilly Swann, show promise of making humane changes, but can they do this before a panicked Gale destroys lives?

While told in the third person and weaving together the stories of Ivy, Ballard, Swann, Gale, and the Matron, Eugenia Harvey, the heart of the story is Ivy’s, told to Tilly Swann. Ivy comes through as a determined person who may not always make choices that everyone would but has to be admired for her strength, loving nature, and intellect. The characters all come to life on the page, but I felt I knew Ivy as a living, breathing person. A lot of research went into this book and the historical aspects are spot on. I very, very rarely do this, but I cried at the end of this story. I highly recommend this book.

[Chana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent historical fiction although very difficult to read due to dread and horror. I had to stop a few times when I realized something terrible was going to happen. The things that happen in the story all serve purpose to tell the story in historical, social and mental health construct. The notes at the end, which tells why the author wrote the book as she did and gives additional historical context, is very good. The story is not spare but it is very carefully and thoughtfully constructed.
Recommended if you have an interest in mental health and the history of mental health treatments.

[Valerie Christie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is set in Goldcord Asylum, which is a mental institution in North West England. The story centres round a patient, Ivy Squire, who is in isolation, and on her interactions with a nurse, Tilly Swann, who has just started working there. Through Ivy and Tilly's conversations, we find out why Ivy has come to be in this place. The other inmates of the asylum, and the staff, also have their own stories, and the book is a fascinating account of how things would have been for a patient in one of these asylums. It was very thought provoking, and made me quite glad that I don't live in Victorian times. As someone who has suffered from depression in the past, I shudder to think about what kind of treatments were meted out to women suffering from mental illness in Victorian times. My favourite part of the book was probably the bonus material, it was fascinating to read about the various treatments and aspects of Victorian life and I found it a really interesting and thoughtful addition to the book. I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone interested in Victorian asylums or Victorian times in general.

[Lisa Steckler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goldcord Asylum offers a realistic view of the life of a middle class woman in late Victorian England who does not conform to what society sees as "normal". While Ivy is never diagnosed due to the lack of knowledge at that time, the modern reader will recognize several of her "odd behaviors" and easily apply a modern diagnosis to them. While someone in our day and age would be treated successfully at home, Ivy finds herself confined to a mental asylum where the reader sees many other women deemed "insane" even though their behavior is not anything we would see as out of the ordinary.

The story was engaging and the characters well developed to the point that I really began to care about Ivy and Tilly and the others. As much as I wanted a happy ending for everyone, I know enough about history, especially as it pertains to the treatment of women, to doubt that my wish would be fulfilled.

I really loved this book, and feel that it provided an excellent window into the treatment of women in mental asylums at that period of history (and beyond) even the final treatment at the hands of Mr. Gale unfortunately did not entirely surprise me.

Anyone interested in women's history, historical mental health treatment or treatment of women in Victorian England will enjoy this book. There is some detailed description of sexual behaviors that may make it inappropriate for a younger reader.

[Josie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book came to my attention around 2 years ago when I stumbled across some photos of an old asylum in the grounds of where my Father used to play cricket. As you do when browsing the web, searches lead you to all sorts of interesting places, and these photos led me to learn of this book.
You can read about Whittingham Hospital (a psychiatric hospital in the parish of Whittingham, near Preston, Lancashire, England) HERE and the photos that lead me to this book can be seen HERE

Now this book is not my usual read. I’m more of a contemporary fiction kinda gal, but the story stole my heart and had me gripped from the very beginning.
I am a huge fan of authors who use just enough characters, and use them well, and this author certainly did that.
This book will no doubt stay with me for some time, and I appreciate being able to visualise Preston (my hometown) in the story.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed here... http://forbookssake.net/2013/07/04/go...